


Second Lead Syndrome

by Kashi



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M, primarily Chanyeol/Kris fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-06
Updated: 2016-02-06
Packaged: 2018-05-18 12:18:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5928054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kashi/pseuds/Kashi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU! University - Where Chanyeol is an emo idiot, Kai can't stop acting like the tough cool guy, Kyungsoo is prone to foot in mouth and Kris is rather okay with the fact that he is a dumbass. One shot!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Second Lead Syndrome

_**February** _

Kris could hear Chanyeol’s pounding footsteps much before the other boy turned the corner to his hallway. He looked sadly at his research paper that had been coming along so nicely.

Kris sighed. He moved his guitar away from the corner, behind the door and his laptop off the top of his bed. He was just in time as Chanyeol flung the door open, causing the contents of his wall rack to rattle in protest.

“Kris,” he said, out of breath, and still as excited as ever. “Xiumin, Xiumin hyung is moving to your country.”

He tumbled into Kris’s bed, burrowing into his comforter because obviously in his excitement, he’d forgotten to put on anything warm.

When they had first met, Chanyeol had decided that the fact they shared three of their four classes clearly was reason enough for them to be friends.  Kris had found that trying to correct this utterly wrong impression impossible. It wasn’t that Chanyeol was thick; he got sarcasm quite well. It was more like he was a puppy; a large overgrown gangly puppy which would slink off looking rather hurt if Kris said something but would, no doubt, come bounding back to him the next day – slight completely forgotten and back to being best of friends again.

“Remind me again who Xiumin is and why exactly I should be excited about him going to Canada?” Kris grumbled, putting away his paper.

Chanyeol propped himself up on his elbows to stare at Kris in surprise.

“He’s going to China. Wait, you mean you’re from Canada? I didn’t know that!”

Kris waved that fact away in irritation. He didn’t really discuss his background much around college anyway.

Chanyeol was still talking. “That means your English must be really good! Is that why we don’t share the English class? You can help me with my essay!”

“No, now who is this Xiu-”

“You know Xiumin hyung! You’re going to help him with his Mandarin so that he’ll have an easier time in China.” Chanyeol said, like it was the most obvious outcome of the conversation.

“No,” Kris said adamantly. “I am not helping this Xiumin person”

As Chanyeol began to beg, Kris could swear, Chanyeol’s ears drooped just the slightest bit.

“I said no! I won’t. I shan’t.” Kris said firmly. He was anyway trying to shake Chanyeol off; no way, was he going to get caught up in his social circle as well. He had not signed up for this!

* * *

 

**_April_ **

“What if I never find a friend like you Chanyeol?” Xiumin wailed loudly, “or even Kai! Or Kris! Even though, the two of you are terrible friends. What if I don’t fit in and want to come back?”

Kris tried not to cringe as people stared at them. This was Kris’s favourite restaurant and he was going to kill Chanyeol for organising Xiumin’s leaving drinks here.

Chanyeol, generally emo plus drunk as he was, said magnanimously, “Don’t worry hyung; we’ll not let out your room immediately. We’ll keep it in case you want it back.” He thumped Xiumin’s back to comfort him until Xiumin yelped in pain. 

Kai tossed back a drink as he drawled; his voice snide and velvety at the same time. “Xiumin hyung is likely to hook up with some pretty Chinese boy, the moment he lands and we’ll be stuck shelling out extra for the room.”

Kris frowned at Kai, even as Xiumin and Chanyeol, in drunken enthusiasm, hugged him into submission. It wasn’t that Kris had any love for Xiumin. If it wasn’t for Xiumin and his stupid luck with the exchange program, Kris wouldn’t have been forced into teaching Xiumin. _It was either that or listening to Chanyeol whine all day long._

But he was never sure what he thought of Kai. The first time Chanyeol had introduced him to Kai, he’d been left with the distinct impression that Kai was a bit of an asshole. But Chanyeol clearly adored him. Kris sighed as Chanyeol began bawling along with Xiumin. Then again, Chanyeol was an emo idiot.

“I can’t take this anymore.” Kai was on his feet, eyeing the two in disgust.

“Wait! Who’s going to take them home?” Kris asked, wincing, as the two began to sing “Last Christmas” off key.

“You are,” Kai shrugged at Kris’s expression. “If you don’t drink, you’re in charge of the wasted.”

“I gaaaaaaave yoooooo mah hart, but yoooooooooo, Kai, oof!” Chanyeol wailed tumbling over Kris as he drunkenly tried to hold on to Kai.

Kris was never coming back to this restaurant.

* * *

 

**_June_ **

“I am glad Xiumin hyung is super happy living in China” Chanyeol said morosely, two months later.

Xiumin, when he did remember to call because he was too busy with how wonderful China was, rattled on enthusiastically about Luhan this and Luhan that.

 _“_   _Aish, Kris. You know Luhan. We saw him at the airport!”_

Kris had no idea who Luhan was or why Xiumin didn’t want Sehun to ever meet him but Xiumin did seem too perfectly happy to want the room for a while.

“Your fault, Chanyeol,” Kai pointed out, stretching languidly on the couch, all loose limbed and ready to fall asleep. “So go find a flatmate.”

Chanyeol brightened up almost immediately. ““I could do that! How hard could it be, right, Kris?” Even as Kai smirked, Kris had the nasty feeling that he’d somehow been roped into helping Chanyeol.

* * *

While Kai had said he’d leave the search for a flat mate to Chanyeol, he insisted on being there for all the viewings.

 _‘_ You’re no judge of character, Chanyeol. You’d find a serial killer a pretty decent guy.” Kai had said, pointedly glaring at Kris who should have found it mildly offensive except he kind of agreed in principle with Kai.

Kai had then proceeded to find fault with everyone.

 Chen was too quiet, Suho was too perfect, Taemin was his hyung, and Yixing danced.

“But you dance, Kai!”

“Exactly!” Kai had said as if that explained everything.

 “What about Kyungsoo? He’s fine right?”

Kris knew Kyungsoo from the one class he didn’t share with Chanyeol and that was enough for Chanyeol to dub him the perfect choice.  

“I can’t find anything wrong with him... yet.” Kai had remained unconvinced.

Chanyeol had cajoled and Kris had threatened Kai into finally going with Kyungsoo.

"Kyungsoo,” Chanyeol said, plopping into the seat next to Kris “you’re getting the room.”  Spanish had just ended and Chanyeol, who had been outside gesturing wildly at Kris because Chanyeol clearly didn’t understand why text messages were invented, came bounding into the room to accost...Kyungsoo. _So he’d been waving at Kyungsoo?_   This was new for Kris, who was usually the victim of Chanyeol’s embarrassing tactics. Kris found he could get used to it.

Kyungsoo, busy as he had been trying to stuff several unwieldy textbooks into his book bag, stopped all together and looked at Chanyeol, a little surprised.

“Really? I didn’t think your flatmate liked me.”

Chanyeol shook his head sadly even as Kris snorted.

 “No, no, Kai doesn’t dislike people.” Chanyeol said reassuringly.

“That would be too much of an effort.”  Kris couldn’t help but add. He smiled cheekily even as Chanyeol bristled at the insult. It was the one weapon that Kris had discovered in his arsenal. Chanyeol might be completely forgiving about being insulted but he was extremely touchy about Kai.

Kyungsoo, who was looking at the two of them curiously, blurted out “what’s his problem anyway?”

“I mean,” Kyungsoo added hurriedly, even as Chanyeol’s easy smile slipped away. “Oh god, I didn’t mean it like that! I have the worst foot in mouth! What I meant was that he looked sad.”

Kyungsoo seemed earnest and wide eyed in worry and while Kris would have loved to list out all that was wrong with Kai, Chanyeol, as usual, was protective.

“His girlfriend dumped him,” Kris looked at Chanyeol in surprise. He did not know that.

“That was six months ago,” Chanyeol added, watching Kyungsoo carefully.

Kris expected that Kyungsoo would laugh but his expression softened even more. He seemed to be hunting for the right words.

“ We should get him drunk properly. Nothing heals a broken heart like an ailing liver,” he said finally. It was lame, but Kris could see that he’d passed some sort of test in Chanyeol’s head.

“We can’t! He’s a lightweight!” Chanyeol happily blurted out more of Kai’s secrets.

“I didn’t know that about Kai.” Kris said later. He’d been sifting through Chanyeol’s English essay, helping him make sense of the feedback he’d got but he couldn’t concentrate. He would loath to admit it, but he was sort of curious. He knew that Chanyeol had more or less hero-worshipped Kai, since middle school and he couldn’t help but wonder whether this girl was the reason that Chanyeol had been forever friend-zoned.

Chanyeol smiled easily at him as he shrugged. “Not many of our friends here even knew Kai was dating. We, three, went to school together. He’s been quite cut up about it.”

“Yeah right,” Kris scoffed as he went back to redlining the essay.

“He might not look it, but he’s a bit of a softie, just like you.”

They get thrown out of the library when Kris tries to beat up Chanyeol with the essay.

* * *

**July**

“This was an awesome idea!”  Kris, who’d been lost in thought, startled badly as Chanyeol shouted into his ear over the noise in the club.

It was one of Chanyeol and Kyungsoo’s  _‘Let’s get Kai to drown his sorrows and hook up with a hot stranger’_  covert expeditions. As to why Kris needed to be there, had been hotly contested by, well, him.

“For luck!” Kyungsoo had said and shared a cheeky grin with Chanyeol and Kris thought him nearly as bad as Chanyeol.

“Stop moping! Come dance with me,” Kris shook his head pointed at the coke he’d been sitting with since they’d come. Chanyeol pouted all annoyed and fish faced but fell on to the chair next to him.

“Where are the other two?” Kris asked and was awarded with Chanyeol’s quick grin as he pointed to the dance floor.

Kris was able to spot Kai dancing almost immediately.  Kyungsoo was next to him, trying to keep the beat but mostly just looking rather mesmerised by Kai.

Kris wasn’t all together surprised. Kai, when he danced, had that effect on people. It was the one thing that he was rather envious of. Kris wasn’t a bad dancer but it had been one of the first things about Kris that his parents had tried to stamp out. Kris would never have fit the mould his parents wanted, but they’d succeeded in making him just the tad bit self conscious.

“This was a great idea!’ Chanyeol repeated. ‘ Kyungsoo has the best ideas! So glad you found him! ”

Kris laughed. Chanyeol’s crush  on Kyungsoo was out there for the entire world to see. Not a day went by, when he didn’t hear new stories about Kyungsoo.

“Looks like Kai has competition,” he said winking at Chanyeol, even as Chanyeol just grinned and shrugged as if puzzled.

“What do you mean?”

“Just that someone else is getting all your attention these days,” Kris said suggestively. He laughed again when Chanyeol went rather pink and muttered about him having the wrong idea all the time.  Kris was just about to tease him further when he suddenly caught sight of Kai and Kyungsoo again.

Kai and Kyungsoo, who did not seem to be dancing anymore.

“They are most decidedly not dancing, are they?” Kris muttered when Chanyeol finally caught sight of them.

“Oh god, this is bad,” Chanyeol whispered.

Kris, who’d mostly been worrying about how the image of Kai feeling up Kyungsoo’s butt was forever burned into his brain, suddenly felt a pang of worry for Chanyeol.

“You okay?” he tried tentatively catching hold of Chanyeol’s elbow.

“What?” Chanyeol asked, still watching the pair making out with a sort of sick fascination.

“Old crush, new crush,” Kris gestured, rather vaguely at Kai and then at Kyungsoo.

Chanyeol looked at him completely puzzled for a moment; then he  turned red  and covered his face with a groan of frustration.

“Are  you ok-”

“Oh, shut up, you idiot.” snapped Chanyeol, much to Kris’s surprise. “It’s not that! I am worried about Kyungsoo! Don’t you get it? Kai is going to act like an ass about this when he gets sober!”

* * *

**August**

“Angry Baozi, sad Baozi, suspicious Baozi” Kyungsoo read out the captions even as his fingers skimmed through the pictures that Xiumin had sent to Chanyeol, “Does your friend know he’s pulling the same expression everywhere?”

Kai scowled and opened his mouth to say something no doubt insulting even as Chanyeol shushed him with flailing arms and pleading eyes, just out of sight of Kyungsoo.

Kris flicked through the magazine that he was supposed to be reading. His dorm was empty with most people having already left for the  holidays. He didn’t mind it really; he could do with a little peace and quiet, but Chanyeol had begged him into coming for dinner just to help balance out all the tension at their flat.

“It’s terrible,” Chanyeol had said in complete dramatic seriousness.

In the beginning, things between Kai and Kyungsoo hadn’t been as bad as Chanyeol had predicted. For one thing, the two boys were just too busy handling their hangovers the next day to have time to rehash the night before. Plus, it was end of semester soon, with all the end semester exam shenanigans. Sure, things were a little awkward between Kai and Kyungsoo but as far as Kris could tell they seemed to have reached a “ _you were drunk, I was drunk, let’s forget everything that happened when we were drunk,”_  status quo.

 

_“See, everything is good,” Kris had said. “You might still have a chance with Kyungsoo but it is still Kai that your heart beats for, isn’t it?” He’d found that teasing Chanyeol never got old._

_“Ha ha,” Chanyeol had mumbled distractedly. He had not stopped acting like a mother hen._

_All worked up about the emo feelings which his two friends clearly didn’t have._

 

“You shouldn’t sound so flippant. If it wasn’t for Xiumin hyung, you wouldn’t have this room.” Kai said, causing Kyungsoo to flinch.

So maybe things weren’t perfect but Kris couldn’t see the point of Chanyeol getting so worked up about it.

“So glad the exams are over, right? I can’t wait to go home! What plans for the holidays?” Kyungsoo asked, ignoring Kai.

Chanyeol seemed to jump at trying to help Kyungsoo’s rather obvious attempt at changing the topic.

“Crash at Kai’s as usual though he keeps saying how I am not invited, right Kai?”

They waited an inordinate amount of time for any sort of response from Kai.

“Kris? What about you?” Kyungsoo finally asked him pleadingly.

“Huh, nothing really, staying put.”

“I thought you’d be going home?”

Kris shrugged hoping the conversation was over. ‘Home’ was complicated, almost impossible now... right now. His parents hadn’t cut him off completely but he wasn’t welcome there while he kept up his nonsensical stance of ‘liking boys’.

“But, why not?” Kyungsoo persisted. “I mean, you’ve been away from home for a while right? Your parents must be really cool. My mum would be pulling all sorts of emotional blackmail on me if I didn’t go home for the holidays.”

Kris shifted uncomfortably. He didn’t want this conversation and he was acutely aware that both Kai and Chanyeol were now looking at him. He’d always known that it was not completely lost on them that he didn’t bring up his family... like ever.

“Chanyeol, aren’t I right?” Kyungsoo continued, oblivious to the discomfort in the room. Trust Kyungsoo to be thick.

“I don’t-” Chanyeol’s stuttering response was cut off by Kai, who said sharply,

“we don’t need to know what a precious darling you are to your family, Kyungsoo!”

“What?! No, I didn’t mean-”

“We all know what you meant Kyungsoo, and frankly I am tired of how thick you are,”

“Wait, what are you saying? I didn’t-” Kyungsoo looked around frantically at the others. Kris didn’t know what to say. Kai, was for some strange reason, jumping to his defence. This really didn’t make any sense.

“You know he didn’t mean that. Let it go,” Chanyeol said wearily.

“I’ll say what I like. I am sick of pretending that his idiocy is cute.” Kai said angrily.

Kyungsoo lost it then. “I don’t know what I’ve done wrong right now and I am sorry about it to maybe Kris or even Chanyeol.”  He pushed at Kai angrily, “but I don’t fucking understand your problem with me, Kai!”

 _Fight._ The thought finally pushed Kris into action and he was up and helping Chanyeol in holding Kai back from throwing the first punch.

“Stop it! Stop it, the both of you!” Chanyeol shouted angrily. He pulled Kai away even as Kris kept a hand on Kyungsoo.

“I am sick of this, Kai.” Kyungsoo said, trembling in anger.

“Yeah?” Kai shouted back, still struggling to get away from Chanyeol. “Why don’t you just leave and make it easier for all of us?”

Kyungsoo looked rather taken aback for a second before he pushed Kris’s hands away irritated. He grabbed his jacket and stomped out of the flat.

The fight seemed to go out of Kai almost immediately.

“Kai?” Chanyeol said softly, his fingers coming up to pet Kai’s hair, clearly worried. Kris felt irrationally annoyed.  _Why did Chanyeol have to get so worked up about everything?_

Kai swatted Chanyeol’s hand away and stomped off to his room.

“Let him be,” Kris said before Chanyeol could follow him. Chanyeol looked ready to argue but then slumped down on the couch, clearly drained.

“We need to fix this,” he said, after a while.

Kris shook his head vehemently. “We need to stay out of this.”

“You don’t understand. Kai does this! He pushes people away. He-”

Kris cut into Chanyeol’s blabbering.

“Trust me, Chanyeol. You keep saying how I am like him, don’t you? Well then, listen to me.  If he pushes people away, he’s doing it on purpose. He wants people to leave him alone. He doesn’t want you there, trying to fix stuff for him.”

“Is that what you really think?” Chanyeol looked so fierce, that Kris nearly backtracked. But Chanyeol needed to learn to stop letting himself be so affected.

“Yes. It’s not your place to fix his life for him. He’ll figure out things for himself. They both will. ”

* * *

Kris ended up crashing on the couch at Chanyeol’s place late that night, waiting for Kyungsoo, and was in no mood to be woken up early.

Chanyeol’s words, however, got through even to his sleep addled brain. “Kyungsoo’s left.”

He was still only half awake and didn’t quite get it. But he found himself bleary eyed peering into Kyungsoo’s room or what used to be his  room. The room was stripped bare and all of his stuff was gone.

“What a drama queen,” Kai snorted, peering over Kris’s shoulder. He looked a lot worse than Kris felt, which was pretty awful, anyway. “I am going to bed.”

“You need to fix this, Kai.” Chanyeol said.  “Kyungsoo left because of you.”

“Are you really going to defend him?  Someone needed to point out the fact that he’s really obtuse.”

“But that’s not why you did it, is it Kai?” Kris had never seen Chanyeol so very...serious.

Kai faked a laugh. “Save it, okay? I don’t want to hear-"

“I don’t care. I am sick of letting you off the hook when you are being such an asshole!”

Kris couldn’t quite believe it. Chanyeol would never...could never say anything bad about Kai.

Kai was staring in surprise as well.

“Yeol-”

“I am tired,” Chanyeol said softly, and yet so very intent “of watching you push away people who care about you. You’ve done it all of your life. You did it with her.”

Kai’s jaw clenched.  “Don’t bring her into this.”

Chanyeol continued like he hadn’t heard. “She loved you and you adored her. But it wasn’t that you didn’t tell her that you loved her; you acted like you didn’t give a fuck. And that’s what you are doing to Kyungsoo as well.  You care for him and don’t tell me you kissed him because you were drunk. You liked him but as usual you had to sabotage yourself. I am sick of you playing the cool tough guy.”

Kai was speechless but he looked like he was spoiling for a fight.  And Kris was only slightly surprised to realize that he would reflexively sock Kai if it turned into a fight. He wasn’t conscious of doing it, but he had angled himself slightly in front of Chanyeol. Kai sneered, when he picked up on it.

“How long have you kept all that hidden, Chanyeol? “ Kai asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “And here I thought you were only good at keeping your crush hidden not all that hate.”

Kris nearly decided to sock Kai then and there but Chanyeol stepped forward, pushing Kris gently to the side.

“Don’t be an ass, ” Chanyeol’s voice was wavering and Kris was going to make fun of the tears in his voice forever but not just then. “I love you, you idiot. You’re the only family I’ve got left; which is why I feel so wretched. I should have knocked some sense into you long ago.”

Kai looked taken aback.  The anger seemed to go out of him and he looked slightly ashamed. He stumbled back and muttered about getting away from emo idiots and Chanyeol didn’t stop him except to call out that Kyungsoo must still be on campus before Kai was out of the door.

“You should go back to sleep, Kris,” Chanyeol said, his voice still quiet and flat.

“Chanyeol, are you?” Kris moved slowly to where Chanyeol was standing and awkwardly put his hands on his shoulders.

When the other boy stumbled into a hug Kris hadn’t even really been offering, Kris found that he was extremely relieved. This was more like Chanyeol.

He tried to sooth away the shudders he felt though Chanyeol didn’t make any noise and he whispered awkward sympathies.

“Why do you have to be such a kdrama? Sending your first love after the second? Also, by the way, Kai is a terrible first love, throwing your crush on him back at you like that! ” God, Kris really was trying to joke this time but didn’t know what he would do if Chanyeol just burst into tears.

He’s relieved when Chanyeol starts laughing, though he’s slightly more worried when it looks like he won’t stop.

“Have you gone hysterical or something? I don’t know how to really deal with a nervous break-”

Kris has his breath knocked out of him when Chanyeol hugged him again. It’s tight and close and Kris can’t quite breathe but he feels oddly out of sorts when Chanyeol lets go off him.

“I give up, you’re such a doofus, Kris,” he said rather simply.

“I resent that, even though you say it in an affectionate way.”

Chanyeol still looked vaguely sad but there is an evil gleam in his eyes as he said rather nonchalantly.

“Well that’s done. If you’re going to stay up, help me move Kyungsoo’s stuff back.”

Kris is slow on the uptake and stared at Chanyeol bemused.

“Move Kyungsoo’s stuff back?”

“Yep,” Chanyeol said chirpily. “All his stuff is in my room. It was quite difficult moving it all without help.”

“Wait. Wait just a minute. Kyungsoo didn’t really leave, did he?” It was slowly starting to make sense.

Chanyeol stared at Kris as if in surprise though he was clearly laughing.

“It’s just a stupid flat mate fight. What sort of a drama queen would move their stuff in pitch dark for something that trivial?”

“But you sold it all to Kai.” Kris said in awe. He was still having trouble believing it.

Chanyeol shrugged. “I sold it to you too.”

“But why would you?” Kris persisted. “What’s the point? I mean Kai isn’t going to go running after Kyungsoo. He’s not going to do that even if he does care about him.”

“You don’t think you would go after someone, someone you cared about a lot? You’d just let them go?”

Chanyeol’s question was irrational; this wasn’t about him. But Kris could not lie or rather the answer seemed so obvious that it’s out before he has actually thought it through.

“No, I don’t think I could ever be so in love with someone that I would pull a stupid stunt.”

Chanyeol does look a little disappointed by the answer but not all together surprised. He was quiet and rather distracted when helping put Kyungsoo’s room back together and Kris felt slightly sorry for spoiling his romantic notions but really Chanyeol needed to be a tad less naive for his own good.

* * *

Turned out that Kai was the sort of person who would pull a stupid stunt. Like stomping into a Professor’s office and demanding huffily that Kyungsoo get his sorry ass back home and maybe then Kai would consider finding his constant annoyance less annoying.

Kyungsoo, who understandably had no clue what was going on, had told Kai to piss off as he had more important things to do like dealing with his flabbergasted Spanish professor and...

This was apparently the point where Kai grabbed hold of Kyungsoo and snogged him senseless. At least, this was one popular version of the story that Suho told Kris.

Whatever may be the actual snogging point, by the end of the day, they were most definitely an item by all accounts. Kris heard it from others, but he found that he was still waiting for Chanyeol to come bursting into his room to crow about his success.

Then he got annoyed with himself for waiting for Chanyeol.

And then even more annoyed with trying to force him into not waiting for Chanyeol.

Finally he caved, and ended up calling Chanyeol. He was sort of relieved to hear the idiot’s  voice even though it was only his voice mail.

“Just checking,” he said as smugly as he could. “How are you faring in the love nest that must be your flat now.”

When there was no reply on the third day, Kris was convinced he had legitimate grounds to be worried. This was probably the longest Chanyeol had gone without contacting him.

By the time he reached Chanyeol’s flat he’s convinced that Chanyeol must be spiralling into depression. His fears were confirmed when Kai opened the door, looking so completely and utterly happy that Kris found even he was a little sick from just seeing the lovey dovey one half already.

Thankfully, Kai seemed to sober up almost immediately when he caught sight of Kris and his automatic scowl for Kris was surprisingly reassuring.

“Where’s Chanyeol?” he got to the point almost immediately.

“What’s it to you?”

“Why are you interrogating me? “ Kris asked, perplexed.

“He’s miserable. So yes, I am itching to hit you really hard.”

This was all going over Kris’s head. _Chanyeol was miserable_ \- that part stuck and really that was Kai’s fault. “I can’t believe you guys would be so insensitive. You know Chanyeol has always liked you and you still rub your new relationship all over his face. Where is he?”

Kai looked genuinely shocked and then just pissed off. “Just get out before I hit you. You think he likes me? Chanyeol said that’s what you thought but oh god that’s what you actually think? You are thicker than Kyungsoo!”

“Kai!” and Kris was all kinds of glad to hear Kyungsoo’s voice. Kyungsoo was always so much saner.

“Can you please control your crazy boyfriend of two days and just tell me where the hell Chanyeol is?”

Kai, who had seemed ready to argue, turned sheepish when Kyungsoo glared at him. Kai looked rather put out about doing it but he finally said grudgingly,

“he’s in China. And he doesn’t like me, you dumbass. I can’t believe someone has to spell this out for you, but he likes you. Not me, not Kyungsoo; He likes you!”

* * *

The flight to Beijing was not enough time for Kris to make sense of the codswallop that Kai had tried to feed him.

 

_“I don’t even know why he likes you,” Kai had said, once Kyungsoo had left, telling the two to play nice. What was up with Kyungsoo being in charge of the Kai/Kyungsoo relationship anyway? Nothing made sense to Kris anymore._

_“But I think he sort of understands what you were probably going through back home in Canada. Chanyeol came out to his family quite young. You can guess they didn’t take it too well. They didn’t try to beat it out of him but...anyway so he’s gone through shit.”_

_Pity, sympathy. So, Chanyeol being a perpetual thorn on his side came from some misplaced sense of pity; He’d made Kris a part of his life, his friends, his studies, everything, so that Kris wouldn’t be lonely even though all Kris had wanted was to be left alone._

_It annoyed him. Annoyed him enough, that he’d burst out angrily,_

_“I don’t want his pity,”_

_At which point, Kai had called him a dumbass again and said that no one spend so much time caring for someone they didn’t like._

 

Kris didn’t really believe it. Not when he booked his ticket or got on the plane or navigated his way to the rundown student flat Xiumin rented with Luhan.

When Luhan, that boy he only knew from Xiumin’s photos, opened the door, he grinned at Kris like he’d known him forever.

“You’re Chanyeol’s Kris! I’ve heard so much about you from him!”

So maybe Chanyeol did like him...a little.

* * *

Of all the places for a confrontation, a nondescript mall was the worst possible choice. As luck would have it,  the three had made plans to catch a movie and Chanyeol had gone ahead to shop, book tickets and wait near the food stalls.

“He won’t know it’s you. It will be such a surprise!” Luhan clearly didn’t think a nondescript mall in Beijing was the worst possible choice for such a surprise.

So that’s why Kris found himself at the food counter, with their shiny plastic tables, and old tacky video games to the side, avoiding being trampled by families that had descended on the mall that  Sunday afternoon. As he walked up to the familiar figure, he had the strongest urge to turn around and make a run for it.

“Hi Chanyeol,”

Chanyeol luckily was completely taken aback. So much so that Kris found that it made him feel a lot more confident. He grabbed the chair opposite Chanyeol and smiled at him. He was pretty sure that the screaming kid to the right drowned out his pounding heart.

“What? What are you doing here? Who told you?”  Chanyeol spluttered.

Kris smile slipped a little. “Did you tell Kai not to tell me? It was Kyungsoo who made him tell. If it was left to Kai, he would never have told me. He hates me too much.”

“Kai doesn’t hate people.” Defending Kai was almost a reflex for Chanyeol.

“Only the ones, he thinks are likely to hurt you?” Kris said. “He’s always got your back, hasn’t he? It’s why he fought with Kyungsoo that day.  That talk about family, he knew it would affect you as much as it would affect me.”

Chanyeol had looked progressively more worried as Kris kept talking but by the end he only shrugged it off with a laugh. “Didn’t think encouraging their relationship was going to get my life story spilled.”

“You mean, stuff you weren’t going to tell me,”

“You mean, stuff you don’t need to know,” Chanyeol replied lightly.

“Like the fact that you like me.” There, he had said it. Kris had actually said it out loud.

Chanyeol flushed and looked at a loss for words. He pressed his nails into the plastic table - a nervous gesture that had always got on Kris’s nerves.

“I, look Kris. I am sorry. I knew you weren’t looking for anything. I mean, I understand. Believe me, when I say that. Just because you’ve come out, doesn’t have to mean you want to be in a relationship immediately. Hell, for a while, I was fine with the idea of just...being there for you.”

It’s a confession, in its awkward terrible mangled format, but a confession nevertheless.  The first that Kris has ever had, a voice, he didn’t even know existed, gushed in his head. He told it to cut it out immediately.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”  Kris finally found the right voice.

Chanyeol looked rather put out by the question. “You told me what you wanted. That time when you told me to leave Kai alone.”

Kris remembered that. Not hard, considering he’d been rehashing every conversation he’d ever had with Chanyeol.

 

_“Trust me, Chanyeol. You keep saying how I am like him, don’t you? Well then, listen to me.  If he pushes people away, he’s doing it on purpose. He wants people to leave him alone. He doesn’t want you there, trying to fix stuff for him.”_

 

 “But you didn’t leave Kai alone. You interfered. You made yourself a pest.” Kris wasn’t done yet.

“It’s different. He’s different.”

“Really?” Kris shot back. “But you keep talking about how similar we are.”

“It’s different because Kai actually likes Kyungsoo!” Chanyeol hissed back, looking around clearly worried about how public their conversation was.

What Kris did next was simultaneously the bravest and stupidest thing he had ever done in his life. He leaned across the small table, bumped his lips lightly against Chanyeol’s for a split second before sitting back. His fingers however kept a death grip on Chanyeol’s wrists on the table mostly to hide the fact that they were shaking.

It was over so quickly that he didn’t think anyone even noticed. Even if someone had, he realized, he didn’t care one bit.

He did care about the fact that Chanyeol was looking at him in slack jawed surprise.

“I thought you said you wanted to support me, no matter how I felt. Why did you leave then?” Kris asked again. He let go off Chanyeol’s wrists but found he couldn’t quite move his hands away.

Chanyeol flushed and ducked his head – delayed embarrassment clearly setting in with a vengeance. Kris worried for just a moment about Chanyeol’s reaction but when the other boy finally looked up, he was smiling.

“It just got hard for me to be around you, when I felt, well you know.” He gestured in Kris’s general direction in a vague manner that conveyed nothing. “And well, when I knew or thought I knew you felt nothing for me, I felt like I needed a break.”

“So it was pure selfishness, wasn’t it? In the beginning, you were nice to me because you liked me and then in the end you left because you liked me too much?”

Chanyeol looked worried. “It’s not” he corrected himself when he caught sight of Kris’s frown. “Well, when you put it that way, essentially yes.”

“Good.” Kris said laughing much to Chanyeol’s surprise. “It always bugged me that you were too nice.”

* * *

“In the spirit of full disclosure, you did know that I was only in China for the week and I was going to come back to Seoul, didn’t you?” Chanyeol mumbled really quickly that night.

Chanyeol had been staying on the couch in Xiumin’s place, and Kris had been given a spot on the floor next to it. Xiumin had leered rather unhelpfully of offering them their bedroom for the night to  _‘sort out their feelings’_  but Luhan had thwacked him on his head almost immediately and put an end to possibly just the start of all the lewd jokes Kris would have to now endure.

Kris grinned in the dark. Clearly, this was the reason Chanyeol had been looking slightly guilty all evening. “Of course, what do you take me for?”

“Oh good,” Chanyeol sounded extremely relieved. “I mean that would have been a tad too dumb even for you.”

“Hey! Maybe I am just one of those guys who would pull such a stupid stunt.” Kris said it lightly but couldn’t quite quote himself verbatim from last time.

 

_“You don’t think you’d go after someone, someone you cared about a lot? You’d just let them go?”_

_“I don’t think I could ever be so in love with someone that I would pull a stupid stunt.”_

 

Kris doesn’t think he would ever be able to say it out loud for real. It’s the adrenaline of the day that’s getting to him. That and the fact that Chanyeol had been showing him how he felt with every single gesture of his for the last year and Kris isn’t really sure if he could ever do anything adequate to show how he felt in return.

When Chanyeol went really still on the couch, Kris knew he got it. He let out a breath he didn’t even know he was holding when he felt Chanyeol’s hand come down tentatively to touch his face. Chanyeol was leaning over soon, fingers replaced with lips. It was an odd angle, awkward and hesitant but it was also hot and breathless and Kris used his fingers tangled in Chanyeol’s hair to pull him down urgently until Chanyeol slipped down all the way, toppling over onto him.  Kris yelped in pain as Chanyeol’s knee banged against his stomach.

They froze and it’s not long before they hear Xiumin.

“Told you we should have given them the bedroom.”                                                      

“shutupshutupshutup” Luhan hissed shushing him.

Kris let his head fall back with an embarrassed groan, even as Chanyeol dissolved into a fit of laughter. Chanyeol buried his head into Kris’s neck still letting out little huffs of laughter and Kris fingers reflexively came up to splay on the back of Chanyeol’s neck even as he mumbled about Chanyeol’s nosy friends . Everything was going to be so very embarrassing from now on, and worse he would have to get along with Kai; and he wasn’t really totally convinced that Chanyeol never ever had feelings for Kai and it was now completely unacceptable because he didn’t want to be pathetic and being jealous of Kai would be pathetic.

Chanyeol smiled, his lips still pressed up against Kris’ neck, and Kris literally stopped thinking mid sentence as his heart skipped a beat. Kris realized rather unexpectedly that the heart skipping thing wasn’t new around Chanyeol except he’d somehow managed to convince himself long ago that it was out of annoyance.

He was glad it was dark so that Chanyeol couldn’t see the dorky grin on his face. He really was a dumbass.

**Author's Note:**

> Old A/N: As always, this wasn't what I actually wanted to write. This fic started out in its original inception as a Kai/Kyungsoo one with Chanyeol playing the cupid. But I wanted someone to introduce Chanyeol to Kyungsoo and I thought 'why not Kris?' Well I'll tell you why not Kris because suddenly he was being a snotty know- it-all to poor Chanyeol and I was so annoyed on Chanyeol's behalf that I wanted him to come out of this on top. Which he does sort of achieve quite literally!
> 
> Posting Note: So this fic is way before...well everything. So maybe the pairings are a bit odd perhaps but I hoped as an AU! University fic it won't matter. I have been away from fandom for so long that I am not at all sure if it sounds remotely like them? Or if these pairings were/ are popular or rare or after everything even written? And it’s all a bit disjointed, methinks. Anyway, any feedback is of course highly appreciated.


End file.
